The mediating role of resilience to income and household dietary diversity: Insights from rural Ethiopia

Abstract

This study examines households’ resilience to climate change and food insecurity in Ethiopia. The study was conducted in the Wolaita zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR). The article measured the resilience levels of Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) beneficiary households against non-beneficiaries as a control group using Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis (RIMA). A random sample of 300 respondents were selected from the population of safety net beneficiary and non-beneficiary households in the study area each representing half of the sample. The study found that non-PSNP households have higher monthly per capita food expenditure than PSNP members, with a difference of 30%, indicating that they have better access to economic resources and opportunities. Additionally, non-PSNP households have higher resilience scores than PSNP members, with a difference of almost 0.1 point. The findings suggest that improving resilience through interventions such as asset-building, livelihood diversification, or social protection may have positive spillover effects on household food security and nutrition outcomes if targeted properly. The study also revealed important insights into the characteristics of households in the study area, including the prevalence of poverty and vulnerability, limited opportunities for non-farm employment, and high illiteracy rates, which have implications for policies aimed at reducing poverty and promoting sustainable livelihoods in rural areas of Ethiopia.